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description

This case illustrates the founding and growth of Veja, the first eco-sneaker company in the world, in the broader context of the evolution of the fashion industry and the emergence of the eco-fashion movement. By September 2010, the five-year old venture had become a reference in ethical fashion, and an inspiration for other eco-fashion start-ups. Its path, its successes and its aspirations made it a perfect acquisition target; like-minded companies like Timberland were already feeling out the two founders. Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion were still fulfilling their dream. They had fun trying to craft ever more sustainable business approaches. They were still excited about the opportunity to develop solutions or workarounds for socially- and environmentally-problematic business practices. The case presents several solutions, focusing on the development of sustainable business practices in organic cotton, wild natural rubber and traditional veggie-tanned leather. The case also deals with the issue of how ventures integrate sustainable practices into a holistic and ever improving offering, which engages multiple supply chain participants (employees, consumers, suppliers, partners, even artists) in co-devising a value proposition that appeals not just to our sense of fashion, but also to our conscience. Essentially, the case is a story of fashioning identities by artfully bending consumers' appreciation towards the expression of unity with the earth and across cultures.

learning objective:

The case is ideally suited for core and elective courses on social entrepreneurship or on strategy and sustainability. Students are challenged to combine their knowledge of competitive strategy with the constraints and challenges of building a social enterprise. The case can explore three main themes: (1) triple-bottom-line organizing (specifically the complexities of building a sustainable value chain and crafting an appealing message that brings out the best in others); (2) social movements (specifically the role of successful ventures in social movements) and (3) social adjacency (specifically how ventures can pursue strategic adjacencies to leverage their social skills and mission).